Downfall

The Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers a remarkably fluid experience in Downfall, but the data indicates that the game’s Ultra preset is excessively punishing. Across all tested resolutions, the High preset provides the most balanced experience, offering substantial frame rates without the steep performance penalty of the top-tier settings. The measured results show this combo ranked 469th out of 1741 tested combinations, placing it in the upper quartile of all systems.

Settings Recommendations

The Ultra preset is the weakest choice for this hardware, with the measured average frame rates collapsing to 56 FPS at 3840x2160, 92.5 FPS at 2560x1440, and 129 FPS at 1920x1080. While the 1080p Ultra result remains playable, the drop from High to Ultra is severe: a 38% reduction at 1080p (from 208 FPS to 129 FPS) and a 39% reduction at 1440p (from 152.6 FPS to 92.5 FPS). At 4K, the Ultra preset falls below the 60 FPS threshold, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

The High preset is the clear sweet spot. At 1080p, it delivers 208 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any display. At 1440p, the High preset produces 152.6 FPS, comfortably above high-refresh-rate monitors. Even at 4K, High maintains 91.7 FPS, ensuring a responsive experience. The step from Medium to High costs only a small margin: at 1080p, High is 18.7% slower than Medium (208 FPS vs 255.8 FPS), but the visual quality gain is substantial.

For players prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Low preset is viable, hitting 311.6 FPS at 1080p and 223 FPS at 1440p. However, the difference between Low and High at 1440p is only 31.6% (223 FPS vs 152.6 FPS), making High the recommended choice for most users. The data suggests that the Ultra preset is poorly optimized for this title, and the High preset offers the best compromise between visual fidelity and performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the performance headroom. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The boost clock of 2475 MHz, combined with 5888 shading units, produces 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. These specifications place the RTX 4070 in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37283.

The data shows that the RTX 4070 is well-suited for Downfall’s demands. The GPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, scores 37507, a mere 0.6% difference, indicating that the RTX 4070’s performance is consistent with its peer group. However, the RTX 4070's advantage becomes clear at higher resolutions, where the 12 GB frame buffer and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth prevent memory-related bottlenecks. The measured frame rates at 4K High (91.7 FPS) demonstrate that the GPU has sufficient resources to handle the game’s textures and effects without significant degradation.

The GPU’s end-of-life production status does not diminish its current capabilities. The passmark G3D score of 26927 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3854 confirm strong DirectX 12 performance, which is relevant given the game’s horror genre likely relies on modern rendering features. The GPU’s 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores provide additional headroom for any ray-traced effects, though the measured data does not isolate these features.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 208 FPS at 1080p to 152.6 FPS at 1440p, a 26.6% reduction, and then to 91.7 FPS at 4K, a further 39.9% reduction from 1440p. This pattern indicates that the RTX 4070 is the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases, with the CPU becoming less relevant at higher resolutions.

At Low settings, the scaling is more pronounced: 311.6 FPS at 1080p drops to 223 FPS at 1440p (28.4% reduction) and then to 137.2 FPS at 4K (38.5% reduction from 1440p). The fact that the 4K Low result (137.2 FPS) is higher than the 1080p Ultra result (129 FPS) highlights how the Ultra preset’s graphical overhead, rather than resolution, is the primary performance killer.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, with a 39.8% reduction from 1080p to 1440p (129 FPS to 92.5 FPS) and a further 39.5% reduction from 1440p to 4K (92.5 FPS to 56 FPS). This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that scale disproportionately with resolution, overwhelming the GPU’s capabilities at 4K. The data indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution, as even the lowest 4K result (56 FPS) is well above what would indicate CPU limitation.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 469th out of 1741 tested combos in Downfall, placing it in the top 27% of all systems. This ranking reflects a balanced configuration where the GPU’s strength is fully utilized. The percentileVsAllGpus score of 81 for the RTX 4070 and the percentileVsAllCpus score of 77 for the CPU indicate that both components are above average, but the GPU carries more weight in this title.

The combo’s ranking is consistent with the GPU’s relative performance. The RTX 4070’s average benchmark score of 37283 is 2.5% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 5300M (36371), and 0.6% lower than the RX Vega 56 (37507). This narrow spread suggests that the RTX 4070’s performance is well-established, and the combo’s rank is determined more by the game’s specific optimization than by hardware deficiencies.

Notably, the combo outperforms many systems with higher-tier CPUs, as evidenced by its position in the upper quartile. The data shows that Downfall is GPU-intensive, and the RTX 4070’s 12 GB VRAM and high bandwidth allow it to maintain strong frame rates even at 4K. This ranking suggests that users with this combo can expect a top-tier experience without needing to upgrade either component for this specific title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides ample processing power for Downfall, though its role is secondary to the GPU. With 6 cores and 12 threads, the CPU operates at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The 18 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory ensure that the CPU can feed data to the GPU without creating a bottleneck.

The CPU’s benchmark results demonstrate solid multi-threaded performance: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15935 and a single-core score of 2249. The Passmark multi-thread score of 18747 and single-thread score of 3456 further confirm its capabilities. The CPU’s nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-9700, has an average score of 19831, a mere 0.1% difference, while the Core i7-8700 scores 19894, a 0.2% difference. This indicates that the i5-12400 is competitive with older i7 processors.

In Downfall, the CPU’s role is evident in the scaling behavior. At 1080p, the frame rates are high enough that the CPU must keep up with the GPU’s output. The fact that the 1080p Low preset achieves 311.6 FPS shows that the CPU can handle high instruction throughput. However, the CPU’s 65 W TDP and 10 nm process node suggest it operates efficiently, and the data does not indicate any CPU-induced frame rate drops. The 3DMark multi-thread score of 5890 and single-thread score of 910 confirm that the CPU is capable of sustaining the frame rates observed.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo in Downfall?*

A: The High preset offers the best balance, delivering 208 FPS at 1080p, 152.6 FPS at 1440p, and 91.7 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is too demanding, dropping to 56 FPS at 4K.

Q: How does this combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 4K, the High preset achieves 91.7 FPS, while the Medium preset reaches 112.9 FPS. The Low preset hits 137.2 FPS, but the Ultra preset falls to 56 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as shown by the significant frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K. The CPU maintains high performance, evidenced by the 311.6 FPS result at 1080p Low.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest rival in general benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070’s average benchmark score of 37283 is 0.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507) and 2.5% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 5300M (36371).

*Q: What is the combo’s overall ranking in Downfall?*

A: The combo ranks 469th out of 1741 tested combinations, placing it in the top 27% of all systems tested.

Q: Does the Ultra preset provide a meaningful visual improvement over High?

A: The data shows a significant performance cost: at 1080p, Ultra is 38% slower than High (129 FPS vs 208 FPS). Given the 4K Ultra result of 56 FPS, the visual improvement is not worth the performance loss.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra). All values are average FPS, with no minimum or maximum frame rate data provided.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 311.6 FPS, the Medium preset achieves 255.8 FPS, the High preset hits 208 FPS, and the Ultra preset produces 129 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 58.6% reduction in performance, with the largest single drop between High and Ultra at 38%.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 223 FPS, the Medium preset reaches 182.9 FPS, the High preset delivers 152.6 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 92.5 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra is 58.5%, similar to the 1080p scaling, indicating consistent performance characteristics across settings.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset hits 137.2 FPS, the Medium preset achieves 112.9 FPS, the High preset delivers 91.7 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 56 FPS. The Ultra preset’s 4K result is the only measured value below 60 FPS, making it unsuitable for standard refresh rate displays. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 59.2%, showing that the Ultra preset’s overhead is consistent regardless of resolution.